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Saturday, November 01, 2008

Law - More on: Judge orders Michigan to Allow Wine Shipping by Out-of-State Retailers

Dan & Krista Stockman, authors of Uncorked - A column for those who want to love wine, but don't know how, that appears weekends in the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, wrote a column this week that updates this ILB entry from Oct. 3rd. The Stockmans begin:

The landmark Supreme Court case in 2005 that threw the already confused system into absolute chaos dealt only with wineries shipping their product to consumers, and did not address another, maybe equally important player in the game: wine stores.

But recent court cases in Texas and Michigan may change that.

The column ends:
After the 2005 Supreme Court decision, many state legislatures responded by banning shipping altogether. Some of the proposed laws – like Indiana's – appeared to be written by the liquor lobby itself. The General Assembly, which claims to be pro-small business, pro-family business, pro-farm and pro-free market, took a bill to regulate both in-state and out-of-state shipping, gutted it, and replaced it with language that would have essentially shut down Indiana's wine industry. If the court decisions continue on letting wine stores ship directly to consumers, you will see similar efforts all over again.

Why do you need to be able to buy wine from any store in the country and have it shipped to you?

Because wines are unique in their vintage – this is what fuels wine collectors. Here's an example: A few years ago, Krista bought Dan a bottle of Port from the year he was born, 1970. While a few stores in the area sell fine vintage Port, they carry only what their wholesaler ships them, and wholesalers carry only the current vintage. If you want an old Port, you'll need to find a store that specializes in old, vintage Port. Under the law of most states, if that store is across a state line, you're out of luck. In many states, including Indiana, even in-state stores can't use a third-party shipper.

What all this means is that the market remains tied up by government regulations, which means less competition, higher prices and fewer choices for consumers.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on November 1, 2008 01:49 PM
Posted to General Law Related